The Announcement
by Guarding My Castle
Summary: Rick and Kate announce to their friends what is happening. But now, the evil forces will invade the happy couple and drag them into the deep pits
1. Chapter 1

**So sorry. I entered this and forgot to put the standard disclaimer up here.**  
**I do not own Castle nor do I play him on TV**  
**That other person, Marlow owns him and her and them and the other players**  
**So ABC, Disney get all the glory.**

**I just get to waste my time writing this stuff**  
**so you can waste your time reading my stuff**  
**But you've already seen my stuff, so why are you reading more of my stuff?**

* * *

"Katherine Houghton Beckett. Will you marry me?"

He is on his knee looking up into the face of the woman that he is totally and completely in love with, waiting for her answer

Richard Castle is afraid of what her answer might be. From the look on her face, it looks like he is going to loose the love of his life right here, right now. She is not smiling. Over time he has been able to read some of her expressions and he was planning to learn more of them. But this time she actually has no expression at all

He never thought their relationship was going to crash and burn. But at this very moment, it looks like it is going to burn and fall to the ground.

This woman who came into his life without fanfare. Without wanting anything for herself. She only wanted to find a killer and bring closure to a family became herself wedged into his heart. He was so sure he could control the situation with her. But he learned that he really did not want to control her. He wanted her just as she is. He wants her complete with all her faults. He has his own faults so why would he expect her to be any different?

He considers that the mistakes that he had made with her over the last few months are finally coming to fruition. He is now loosing the best thing he has ever had to her job.

In exactly one more second and he is going to stand up and leave so she can have the future she is wanting. That future without Castle. That new future without him being the distraction to her advancement that he has obviously become. He will not under any circumstance stop her from having what she wants in the job. He was just hoping that he would be more important but it appears that is not going to be the case.

As he moves his fingers to pull the ring back into his palm, she quickly reaches and takes a hold of his hand

"Richard Castle, don't you dare go anywhere" Kate smiles

Castle suddenly has hope. In now sees a sparkle in her eyes

"What are we doing, Rick? Where are you taking me?"

"I was hoping to the altar"

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously"

Kate stands up from the swing and Castle sees a light in her face. Hope for them.

"I love you Kate. I have loved you from that moment when you first arrested me"

That comment brings a bigger smile to her face.

"Don't say that Castle"

"Why?"

"Because! I had a crush on you back then and I had to fight it"

"I know you did"

"So, Mr. Castle…" Kate holds out her left hand to Rick "Would you like to restate the question?"

"Katherine Houghton Beckett. Will you marry me?"

As he slips the ring onto her left hand she responds "Yes I will"

Any park visitors are given a very private show of affection as these two embrace for the first time as an engaged couple

* * *

Saturday, early afternoon in the loft

Castle is rushing around the kitchen bringing down bowls and cups from the overhead cabinets, taking utensils out of drawers and setting everything on the counter. Then on to the refrigerator for the fresh vegetables and meat

Martha has come down from her room and has placed her usual self on the stool with a glass of wine in her hand. "Richard darling, please slowdown. You are making me a nervous wreck with this rushing around"

"Mother, everyone is coming for dinner tonight and I want us, as a family, to make a good impression on them.

"Richard. These are all your friends and they all know they type host you are, so why are you so panicked? Is this different?"

"Mother. Tonight is special. Very special"

Martha is looking at her son with a knowing glare. "Richard. Have you done something that I need to be made aware of?"

"Mother, I don't know what you mean. I have not sold the loft or kicked you out or anything such as that."

"Richard darling. Is Kate moving in here?"

"Permanently?" Martha finishes her question

"Why are you asking?"

"Son. You went to the jewelry store yesterday and made a very large purchase. A purchase that I might want to know about"

"How do you know about that?" Castle suddenly realizes she knows what is happening

"They called from the credit card company. It seems that a purchase of that size, even for you, was outside the norm, so they called to verify the transaction. I know you love her. But I just did not know how much you cared. That must be a very large ring"

"Yes, mother. Kate is going to be your next and last daughter-in-law"

"How are you so sure? If you are planning on asking her tonight in front of everyone, she might just say no"

"Mother, she already said yes. She will be wearing the ring when she gets here"

"OH MY! You already proposed? And she said yes?"

"Yes, mother. She is at her place getting a few more of her things to bring here"

"It is about time!" Martha goes to the cabinet and pours herself another large glass of wine and heads up to her room. Castle thinks he hears a cheer from her before she closes the door

Just a minute passes when the front door opens and Kate enters pulling a suitcase. Castle rushes over to the entry to help.

"Welcome home" He says as he places his arms around his new fiancé.

"If you give me a minute to get this stuff in our room, I will help you in the kitchen."

"All right" he says as Rick lets her go into the bedroom. He returns to the kitchen to continue his food prep.

By five o'clock, the chicken parmesan is prepared and waiting to be placed in the oven just before serving. The lettuce is cut, the tomatoes, chives, bacon bits, cheese and croutons are all in bowls along with the dressing on the side. The table has been set so it is ready the moment all the guests arrive.

The couple goes to get ready for their guests. It is everything both of them can do to not become distracted with each other before welcoming their company for the evening.

The most puncuintal guests are Lanie and Esposito. These two are at the door a few minutes before the allotted time of six. They are followed closely by Jim. Then less than five minutes later the Ryan's arrive.

Naturally Martha is the last to appear. She insists she wants to be fashionably late. Even when the party is just downstairs from her room.

Beckett has everyone sit at the table and serving salads to the group while Rick is bringing the main course from the oven.

Kate's nervousness was only apparent to Lanie. No one else seemed to notice that she seemed a little on edge this evening.

After the desserts were finished and Castle cleared the dishes, he offered coffee to everyone in respect to Jim. Kate noticed this respect for her father. This seemed to please her

Rick return to the table and speaks to everyone "Thank you for being our friends and family" as he looks to his mother

Then he turns to face his girl "Kate has a little announcement she wants to make"

Beckett stands at the end of the table "I was offered a job in DC. I was offered a job as an agent with the Attorney General's office."

There is an audible gasp heard from Ryan and Esposito.

"Beckett. Are you leaving us for the feds?" Javi asks first

Beckett ducks her head just a little "Guys, I thought about this long and hard. This is a giant move up for me. To even be considered for this job is more than anyone could hope for. I would be working on major cases involving terrorism, national security, even spying. What ever the AG's office decides they want to tackle"

"Wow Beckett that is fantastic. But you know we will miss you" Ryan comments

"I would miss you too"

Kate looks over at Rick "But I am saying No"

Lanie has a confused look on her face "Kate. You made me believe you were going to take this job"

"Lanie, I have thought long and hard and decided that all of you" She points around the room "are more important than any job promotion or advancement. I am doing a great service to victims here catching murders. So I am telling them no on Monday when they call me back to get my answer"

Kate looks at her father who is simply smiling at his daughter. She realizes he knows. He knows what is in her heart and he knows the other reason she is saying no.

While no one notices, Kate slipped the new ring on her finger then she continues "There is more to this story. I am telling the Fed No, but…"

She looks at Castle then she holds her left hand up for everyone to see "I said YES to someone else"


	2. Chapter 2

**I was convinced to continue.**  
**This story will contain a murder, spies, zombies, time travelers, secret handshakes, new love interests**

**Or just some of the above. I may just be talking out of my ...** Never mind  
**We will see where this thing takes me. Before I wrote a story, I did think you had to dream up all this in fine detail. **  
**I did not know these stories actually write themselves. I just punch the buttons**

* * *

The men have moved over to the poker table and started a game while the women have taken up residency in the living room.

**The Women**

Lanie is as hyper as a ten year old at Halloween looking through her sack of candy. She is so happy for Kate and is grinning from ear to ear. And all Jenny can seem to do is look at Kate's ring and smile

"Kate this is beautiful. When did he propose? Where were you? How did he do it?" Jenny's excitement for Kate is so evident

"We were in the park. Rick and I have a place there that has a special meaning to us. We were talking about the job offer and then he told me that no matter what I decided to do about the job…" she pauses "he wanted to marry me? I said yes"

Kate looks at her ring again "I can't believe this has happened with us" She looks over toward the men.

"Girlfriend! Everyone saw this coming" Lanie comments

"I know Lanie. We have been heading this way all year"

"No Kate. You have been heading here for several years. Just like I said before, he was waiting for you. He changed for you" Lanie pokes a finger in Kate's direction. "Thank goodness this didn't fall apart. It was a long time coming'"

Beckett blushes with that comment, but she knows her best friend was right. Rick did change for her.

In his past, he had all the women he could ever want He could have continued and had any one of a number of those women. Women who were 'easy'. Women who would have jumped at the chance to be with the famous author. Castle did not have to wait for a woman. All he had to do was step out on the street, go to the mall, stop by a party, but after he met her, this world famous author had only one woman on his mind. Katherine

"So, Kate when and where?" Jenny asks

"When and where what?" Kate responds

Lanie smirks at Beckett "The wedding. When? What date? Where?

"OH probably sometime around Christmas" Kate comments That very special family time at Christmas. Castle and Beckett both had agreed that since they were now a couple that they were making new traditions. I guess a wedding anniversary would qualify as a new tradition.

"We will probably have the wedding at the Hamptons. Everyone can come up there. We have plenty of room"

Kate realizes she did refer to the Hamptons in the plural when she said "WE" have room. It has not taken her very long to think of her and him as 'US'

* * *

**The Men**

The men are across from the living area in the game room playing a pickup game of poker. No real money on the table, just for fun.

"Castle, you finally did it" Esposito comments "You have been caring for Kate a long time. I mean caring about her and caring for her"

Jim is looking at his cards then drops them down "I got nothing." Then he looks up at Castle "except I have a future son-in-law that does truly care about my daughter as much as I do"

"Thank you Jim. Is was very important to me that you were on board for us, or rather for me to ask for her hand"

Ryan looks across to these two men "Castle asked his permission?"

"Yes he did. He called me a couple of days ago and wanted my blessing. Since I knew how much these two kids love each other, I was not about to say no. But what I didn't tell you Rick, is that Katie and I had dinner the other afternoon and she was all torn up over this job. She thought she was going to have to choose between the job and you. I asked her why she thought she had to choose. I knew what was happening. She did not. I am glad everything has worked out this way. Now listen, I am looking forward to grandchildren"

Rick laughs "You might need to discuss that with Kate. That's a giant step. I am good with it, but she needs to be ready for that also"

"So, Castle. When is the wedding?" Esposito asks "And more importantly. Who is going to be your best man? This old Irishman over here?" pointing a thumb at Ryan "Or this Aztec god?" pointing at himself

Castle replies "I might just fool both of you and have neither or have you both be co best men. Honestly guys. You are equally important to me as friends and the brothers I never had"

At as the men are wrapping up their conversation Castle's tablet rings like a telephone. Rick picks up the pad and looks to the screen. He sees an image of his daughter. He yells across the room toward where the women are seated

"It's Alexis calling in on Skype" Castle answers the call as he is walking toward the women. "Hey pumpkin"

"Dad. What's all the noise? Are you having a party or is grams hosting a group of her acting buddies?"

Rick gets to the table and places the tablet so Alexis can see several faces "Hi darling" Martha says to her grand daughter

"Hi grams. I see dad and it looks like Lanie behind him and is that Kate beside you?"

"Yes Lexi" Rick answers "and we have Javi, Kevin and Jenny. We had a dinner party tonight."

"What's going on dad? Is it some special occasion?"

"Yes it is" Rick looks over toward Kate "Alexis we have an announcement to make"

"DAD! Please tell me you proposed to Kate?"

Everyone in the room laughs at that statement "Yes, I did. You will soon have a new step mother"

"Wonderful Dad, that is great. Kate I am so glad this finally happened. Does that mean I will finally get a little brother or sister?"

Castle looks over at a very embarrassed Kate "We'll talk about that" Kate responds "So how is Costa Rica?"

"It is wonderful. I have met so many neat people. In fact, dad, I am bringing someone home for you to meet. OK?"

Everyone's eyes pass toward Rick who has a panicked look on his face "Who are you bringing home?"

"Hey dad they just told me we are losing our connection in 5 seconds. I will talk to you…" The image drops out

Kate turns her head to Castle "So Rick. Do you think she has a new boyfriend?"

Martha answers first "Knowing my granddaughter, I am going with A GUY!"

The guests bids their farewells along with repeated congratulations to the newly engaged couple

Martha requests her leave and heads up to her room leaving just he happy pair alone finally

* * *

Castle takes a hold of Kate's hand and pulls her gently toward the bedroom. Once they pass thru the door, she stops him and he turns around to see a strange look on Beckett's face. A look that normally comes out from fear

"Kate, Is everything OK?"

"Rick are we rushing things?"

"Hey, what's wrong? You are suddenly worrying that we are in too big a hurry? We have known each other over five, almost six years. What is happening here? There is something else on you mind. I can feel it"

Beckett turns and sits down on the bed. "Rick, Alexis asked if we were going to give her a sibling. You are an only child. I am an only child. Does she really want a brother or sister? I have not really thought about us, you and me having a baby"

"Don't worry about that, Kate. We will talk later. I am fine if you want a baby. But I am also fine if you don't want a baby. It is going to be which ever way you want it to be. This is not a deal breaker for me"

He takes her face into his hands "Either way. OK?"

She smiles at him "OK"

"Good! Now there is another thing we do need to talk about and it is just as important" Castle says with a serious look on his face

Kate now is worried about what he has on his mind

He pulls her up and kisses her then he starts undressing. As he starts with his shirt he says

"You demonstrated to me that having you was more than I could EVER in my wildest dreams Imagine"

She smiles back at him. "You liked it didn't you?"

"And that little trick of yours with ice! I must admit I never thought about doing that before!"

More smiles from her

"Then that position that me and the boys saw online and we thought was not even possible. You said it was possible and then showed me it was in fact possible to get into"

"So Mr. Castle! What are you saying?" Kate asks with a chuckle in her voice

"I Just wondering what else you have in mind for US?"

She moves closer to him and before he can even react she shows him what is next

"OH! WOW! I NEVER THOUGHT OF DOING THAT EITHER!" is all Castle can say as she shows him what she has planned for them


	3. Chapter 3

**I usually have to restate this around my third chapter just to clear the air. I do not write Canon. **  
**I take the legend and twist it some. Canon simply means to restate what has already been done by the fine writers of this show.**  
**So I write AU. my stories may or may not be OOC.**  
**I have more fun this way. Make them a little silly. A little more fun. Or a little more serious**  
**Now, this chapter is more serious and the story will stay this way for a while**  
**I enjoy angst. **

**BUT remember. These two belong together**

* * *

Sunday morning comes to life in the loft. The sun is piercing the curtains. Kate stretches her arms above her head and tries to bring life into her limbs. Looking at the other side of the bed she finds it empty. This is actually not that uncommon especially on the weekends. Rick is usually up and making breakfast long before she can drag herself awake. She glances to the clock as she places her feet to the floor. It is already after ten. She really did sleep late today

Her walk intro the living room is preceded by the shuffle drag of her house shoes on the floor.

Rick looks over from his location at the stove to see his love making her way up to the counter and her coffee cup. He takes the carafe filled with the morning brew, turns and pours a fresh supply of the warm liquid into her cup and returns it to her spot on the counter.

He never thought that this day would ever happen for him. This woman is here. Here forever. Wearing a ring on her left hand. A ring signifying their commitment to one another for their ALWAYS

"Good morning beautiful" he says while she is still downing her morning wake up

"Hum" Is the only response from her

"Tired?" he asks while he reaches across the counter to touch her hand

"UM!" He gets another barely muttered response

"You know if we are going to do again what we did last night we probably need to plan it so we can at least sleep-in the next day."

"So you liked it?" Kate asks with a devilish grin on her face

"What's not to like. I just didn't know…"

"Hold on a minute, Mr. Castle. You are this famous playboy and you didn't know about that?"

"No! No! I WAS a playboy. Past tense. No more since I am with you now. And no I never knew about that. Anyway, where did you learn that?"

Kate just smiles and gives him those eyes of hers that tells him she knows exactly what she did to him. She finishes her current cup of coffee then she places the empty in front of Castle with a look telling him she wants a refill. He gladly tops off her drink and then turns back to the stove

"Eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles? What would you like this morning?"

"How about some 'thank you so much for last night' pancakes?"

WOW does that woman ever know how to push his buttons. But he loves her. Every teasing part of her

But before he can get the batter started Beckett hears her cell phone. She looks around and spots it on the table

Glancing at the caller ID she sees the 12th Precinct "Beckett" She answers then listens "On our way" She disconnects the call

"We've got a body in the subway at the Penn Station station. A Guy got pushed in front of a train"

"Was he pushed or did he fall?"

"Witnesses said he was pushed by a person wearing a hoodie. No other description is available right now. Get ready Castle"

Kate stands up and heads to the bedroom while Castle cleans up in the kitchen before he goes to get ready himself

When Beckett and Castle arrive at the train station they are met by Ryan and Esposito who are both standing outside the entrance to the platform waiting for the couple

"Too early to be up on a Sunday" Ryan comments

"Yes it is" Castle retorts

"Hey guys. What are you doing up here? Why aren't you down on the platform?"

"CSU is just finishing the sweep. Lanie has what's left of the body in a body bag It is pretty ugly they tell me" Ryan starts the report

"The guy was standing on the platform and someone in a hoodie came up and tried to steal his briefcase and in the process shoved the man in front of a passing train" Esposito finishes

"Not one that was stopping? So what thirty to forty miles an hour?" Castle question

"Right. The body was dragged down the tracks. CSU said that they will send their results to the station when they finish. No a lot left for us to look at anyway" Ryan says

They turn to the steps to see Lanie walking up to their level

"Hey Lanie, you got anything yet?" Beckett asks

"No much. The man was dragged over a quarter of a mile down the tracks. The body is a mess. I'll have a prelim on him late today, but I will have more tomorrow if you can wait"

A uniformed officer steps up to the group "The witness reports said suspect ran back down the platform"

"That means he should be seen on several cameras" Kate comments

"Tech is pulling the video as we speak "Ryan responds

"All right, Castle and I will go to the precinct and start putting the file together you two finish up here and join us"

"Got it boss" Esposito answers as he and Ryan head into the building

In Kate's cruiser Rick is staring out the window apparently deep in thought.

"Something on your mind Rick?"

"Yeah I can't help think about how fragile this life really is."

"We deal with death every day. Why are you so emotionally tied to this one?"

"It's just how much my life has changed since I met you. I never thought about what tomorrow brought. I only lived from party to party. Now because of you I want tomorrow to mean something. That man has no tomorrow and his family have no tomorrow with him"

"Rick, you killed off characters all the time in your books"

"Kate, they were only words on paper. This man was real and it appears he was killed for nothing. Someone tries to steal a briefcase"

"Castle, sometimes there are valuables in briefcases. Business men take money to the bank on briefcases all the time"

"Not on a Sunday" Castle responds

Kate does not comment, but the look on her face acknowledges she agrees with the thought

Once they get to the station, Rick pulls up a murder board and gets out the magnet clips and markers they use. He draws a line across to indicate the time line. When he turns back around to the desk and he sees Kate walking from the break room holding two cups of coffee. She hands one to Rick as she sits down on her chair

"Does this mean I lost my coffee job?"

"No I just think I owe you about a hundred coffees"

Before Rick can respond he hears the guys walking off the elevator They are in a heated conversation. He turns to see that they are both upset about whatever happened

"We got booted by some feds. They said it was their case and we could just stand down" Ryan comments

"This is like the bombing case. They are freezing us out?" Esposito continues the thought

Before Beckett can comment a voice from behind her speaks up "Detective Beckett or should I say Special Agent Beckett"

The four look around to see Agent Stack from the AG's office walking into the area

"Agent Stack what are you doing here and why are we being denied access to a murder scene?" Beckett questions

"Well Agent Beckett, I can call you that now since I understand you will be joining our team by tomorrow. This case is special circumstance and it is on a need to know basis"

"Agent Stack, I am still Detective Beckett and this is still a murder in New York. So unless you have a real good reason to take over I would think you need our help here instead of the other way around"

"Agent Beckett please join me over there" as Stack points away from the group toward the conference room. "The victim was an employee of a company that is doing, shall we say, some very specialized work for the government."

"What type of work agent?" Beckett responds

"I am not a liberty to say Ms. Beckett" Stack comments "Now if the title is Special Agent Beckett I can read you in. Otherwise this conversation is finished

"Stack, until I have orders from higher up, I am going to pursue this case with all my resources"

"Do what you must, Beckett, but you will be disallowed from any resources that I or the task force might have been able to provide. So are you really sure you don't want to accept the offer that is still on the table and join the unit?"

"Agent Stack, I am not an agent and I am not planning on being one. You are the first to know that I have decided to decline the offer."

"That is too bad. We were looking forward to your special skills at my office"

Stack steps closer to Beckett

"So I guess the answer to my question of where do you see yourself in five years is stagnated here in a go nowhere job with little chance for advancement"

"Actually in five years I will be married, with a child and studying for my captain's exam. Understand something, Stack. I am happy in this job. I am happy with the partners that I would loose if I took your offer and because every time I help solve a murder I bring closure to someone's family. And for me that is very satisfying"

"Well detective, good luck. You are going to need it" Stack states as he turns to leave

Beckett returns to the group "That was interesting. He just told me that the victim was somehow connected to the government and we would not be needed."

"Beckett, are we just going to walk away from this?" Esposito asks

"No way, Javi. We are going to solve this without them. So guys, lets get started on the investigation. Shall we?"

"What do we have?" Kate folds her arms across her chest and looks at the blank murder board

* * *

**If i messed up describing the train station, forgive me. I have never been to New York so I have never ridden their subway.**  
**I did ride the Metro in DC, the BART in San Francisco, DART in Dallas, the MARTA in Chicago, but not MTA in NYC. It is on my bucket list however.**


	4. Chapter 4

Agent Stack leaves the 12th precinct and drives directly to the federal building where the other members of the task force have begun setting up a war room. He is not pleased with the answer he just received from Kate Beckett a few minutes ago. He thought that she would surely jump at the chance to come to DC and be a part of the AG's special task force. She is the type of thinker they are looking for

Once he in his car and on his way toward the building, he phones ahead to the unit to get an update on the investigation and to tell his superior about Beckett's answer. Agent Raylene Dodson answers the call

"Dodson"

"It's Jared. I am on my way in. Any new information?"

"Not yet. We just got the room set up and tech is getting all the machines connected." She responds

Is Agent Ramirez there?"

"Yeah. He just walked in. Let me put him on" The phone goes silent for a moment

"Ramirez"

Chief it's Stack. I just talked to Beckett and she said that she has decided that she is not taking the job with us"

"She refused the position? Why? That really surprises me. I thought she would jump at the chance to move up the ladder with us. I mean she has been stuck in that station with a do nothing job for ten plus years just tracking down one boring homicide after another. I really figured that she would be ready to move up like I did"

"She actually said that she is satisfied with her job."

"Satisfied? Are you kidding me? I worked homicides in Florida for ten years and after two, I was tired of it and ready to move up. So what's her deal?"

"Do not know sir. But maybe this case will show her what she is missing not working with us. I suggest we let her in just enough so she can see what she is missing not being involved with us. You know give her a carrot or two"

"Good idea Stack. We will talk more about that when you get here"

"Will do sir" As Stack hangs up

Stack arrives at the federal building and enters the war room. Several agents from different departments are rushing around, getting computers set up, video display screens and telephone instruments on desks. Stack walks up to Agent Dodson who looks up from her desk when he approaches

"Raylene I need everything we have on the victim and his employer. Current projects they are working on. What agency ordered the work, how sensitive is the program. What specific effect his death causes to national security. You know, the usual things"

"Already on your desk"

"Thanks. What do we know so far?"

"It appears he was heading home from a weekend meeting. We have little to go on right now. He seems to have gone up there Friday afternoon after he left his office. No one knows where he spent Friday or Saturday night. He just reappeared Sunday at the train station. It looks like he might be on his way back home."

"Is it possible that he met with some foreign agents?" Stack questions.

"He was seen in near the hospital district on Saturday. But no other verified sighting on any cameras" Agent Dodson answers

"So he disappears on Friday. Shows up for a little while on Saturday, then gets himself killed on Sunday. Sounds like a meeting gone wrong. I wonder who he met with and what secrets he gave away? This could be bad. Very Bad" Stack continues

"Agent Stack" a voice carrying authority speaks up "Have we recovered the body and any other evidence?" Stack looks up from his desk to see SSA Ramirez standing there

"Yes sir, the evidence team is just returning from the train station"

"Anything of consequence?" The senior agent asks

"No. His briefcase was destroyed by the collision. We found nothing we could call of importance. The tracks were covered in a lot of trash. It is going to be difficult sorting out the daily trash from the passengers from the important items he was carrying. Coffee cups, paper sacks, plastic sacks hamburger wrappers and there were a lot of other paper strewn all over the platform. Kid's drawings mostly. Looked like a five year old dropped his coloring book on the tracks, but we found no hard drive, no flash drive, no memory sticks. Or at least no parts of storage devices that could be recognized. But agents are re-walking the tracks as we speak"

"And the body?"

"We had to get the body away from the New York medical examiner, Dr. Parish. She was on the spot pulling body parts from under the train before we even knew anything had happened. But we were able to intercept the bus and brought him to the morgue here"

"And what about a suspect?"

"He appears to be a male, probably white, from looking at his hands. That is all that can be seen. About five foot ten. The hoodie he is wearing blocks all angles of his face. Not sure on his weight. The jacket he is wearing is dark green, so we are trying to follow him through other cameras in the station looking for a male wearing a dark green hoodie, but nothing yet. We will have to sit down and review every inch of video manually. No recognition system is helping here"

SSA Ramirez turns to the female agent "Agent Dodson, I want you to make contact with Kate Beckett and play like you want to be her friend. Tell her that we are stumped here and we could use her help in finding the murderer and that by doing so that she might help us solve a case with national security ramifications"

"Understood sir."

SSA Ramirez continues "This way she will believe that she is the one really involved in the case and once she starts looking then she will want to become more and more involved"

The lead agent opens the evidence file on the desk

"So for starters, let's give her something of no consequence" Ramirez looks over information "Start with the damaged briefcase and all the cartoon book papers. That should have her running around in circles wanting to get more"

"What if they actually solve this without us?" Stack questions

"I wouldn't be too concerned about that. This is a national security crime, not some random street murder. They will need to get our help and this little carrot we are dangling will is just going to wet her appetite for what we do. It will make her want to be a part of out little group."

Agent Stack "Do you know if Detective Beckett is still being stalked by that writer guy? What was his name? Oh yeah, Castle. Richard Castle"

"Yes, he is still following the detectives around. Why? Do you think he has a part in her reason for staying?"

"I doubt it. According to our information, he is some playboy and has just been researching her for his books. No interest there on her part. She is too well grounded to let a guy like him into her life. According to her file, she did have a crush on him when she was a teenager. She went to book signings. But that is old news"

"I think if we use her talents in this case we will show her how much more good she can do with us rather than hanging around those other detectives and losers".


	5. Chapter 5

The team has been able to get the name of the victim, Ralph Young. The information says he works for Logan Imports. The have uniforms at the address of the business to see if anyone is there

Ryan is at h is desk going over the financial reports on the victim while Esposito has gone over to the tech area and is reviewing the camera feeds from the station. Castle and Beckett are working on setting up the murder board.

"Kate, what did Stack say about the victim? That he was working on some government covert project?" Rick asks

"Yes, Stack said that he was working for a government contractor but he would not divulge any other details. He was just continuing his push in his effort to get me to join their task force"

Castle steps closer to Beckett and in a low voice "Kate, you know I meant what I said about this Federal job. If you really want to go and try it, then I will support you in any decision you make. I am here with you in this or anything else you want. As long as we are together it does not matter to me which way you want to go"

Kate looks up to her fiancé's face and smiles "Rick. This is where I am needed. Helping the families of those who cannot help themselves. Right here in New York"

"As long as you are sure. That's all I can ask for" Castle responds to his girl. His pride in her is showing all over his face.

"As he turns away he whispers just under his breath .What did I do to deserve you?" Castle thinks he said that quietly enough, but Kate did hear what he just said and she can't help but smile to herself

Ryan walks up to the couple with a handful of paper

"Financially our vic is pretty much the norm. He has a few hundred dollars in credit card bills that he usually pays off each month. He has both checking and savings at New Amsterdam Bank the average combined account balances are around six thousand dollars and he has an IRA with a nest egg for retirement, but nothing out of the ordinary. He is living in a nice one bedroom apartment. Nothing extravagant"

"Nothing to indicate that he is either in financial trouble or taking money from an outside source" Beckett comments

"So he lives within his means?" Castle asks

Ryan is glancing over the bank information as he comments "He only seems to spend his money for rent, food, and a cell phone. Wait a minute. There is a five hundred dollar per month auto payment from his checking account every month. It only says Wish"

"Wish? What is that?" Castle asks

"I have no idea" Ryan answers and then finally says "Is it something that he wishes for? The only other unusual activity is his transit card."

"What is unusual about his card? "Beckett questions

"He lives only four short blocks from the office address listed for his employer so he evidently walks to work every day, but he charges 100.00 per month on his credit card for an MTA ticket" Ryan answers

Castle looks at the murder board "If he walks to work every day, where is he going that he is spending twenty-five dollars a week in subway charges? And what could the entry called Wish mean?"

"I used the credit card receipt to put a track on the MTA ticket. Now I am waiting for the Transit Authority to get back with me on when and where that ticket is used"

Esposito walks up at this moment "I have been with tech watching the videos from the train platforms at Penn Station and we are not seeing the suspect anywhere else in the entire place"

"How can he not be on any other video camera? There is virtually a camera on every corner of that place"Castle responds

"We have the killer wearing a dark green hoodie trying to grab the briefcase from the victim then the vic falls onto the tracks just as the train passes. How does he just disappear?" Beckett wonders

"I am not sure, but we have reviewed the video several times and we do not see anyone in a dark green hoodie. We can see several hoodie's from black to white to blue to brown to bright colors to dark colors. Just no dark green" Esposito says

Kate's desk phone rings "Beckett"

She listens for a minute then gets a funny look on her face

"Yes agent Dodson. How can I help you?" Kate shrugs her shoulders indicating she does not understand the purpose of the telephone call she is receiving

"All right Raylene then. What is it I can do for you Raylene?" Beckett listens again

"I thank you for that. We will certainly look at what you have and see if it helps us in our investigation. Please send it on over and thank you again. Good bye" Then Beckett hangs up the phone

"That was Agent Raylene Dodson with the AG's Special Task Force"

"What did she want" Rick asks

"She said that they are willing to share the evidence that they have collected with us to see if it might help us in our case"

"Obviously they are stuck and need our help, just like last time" Ryan retorts

"Or maybe they are snooping to see where we are in our investigation?" Castle adds

"Or maybe, just maybe they are really wanting to just help us" Beckett responds

All three men comment together "NAH!"

"So what then are their reasons for offering to give us the evidence they have collected?" Beckett asks

"I am not sure, but I can almost guarantee that they have giant holes in their investigation and want us to fill in the blanks for them" Rick responds and he turns to look at the now mostly filled in murder board.

* * *

Back in the Federal Building

The task force has finally completed their set up of computers, printers, scanners, touch screen smart boards, telephone lines and large format displays. This war room is a far cry from the simple white dry erase board that the detectives at the 12th precinct are standing facing.

Supervising Special Agent Ramirez steps up to the front of the room and begins his briefing from staff. He chooses to begin with Agent Jared Stack

"Where are we Agent?"

"The victim, Ralph Young was an employee of Logan Imports. He was hired in 2001 just after 9-11 as a technical network specialist. His credentials were network support. Hardware and software. He achieved certifications in all systems in use in the private sector at the time so he was very adept in interfacing into any of the networks active at that time for the purpose sniffing"

"Sniffing?" Agent Dodson questions

"Yes, sniffing. This is the ability of a system to look across to another network system and see what traffic is actually moving around"

"Like you might be reading someone else's mail while it is still being delivered by the postman." Dodson asks

"A more accurate description might be watching your next door neighbor's television thru their window. You don't actually connect to the device" Stack finishes

"So we believe that he was killed because of his knowledge of sniffing or was he selling the technology?"

"We believe he was killed in a sale of technology gone wrong. Looking at the video it appears the hooded man was trying to exchange the briefcase and Mr. Young slipped and fell into the path of the oncoming train"

SSA Ramirez looks at the notes provided to him "Then what do we have on the man trying to obtain the technology?"

"Nothing right now. He disappeared from the station. No trace could be found of him. It is obvious that he is every adept at evading and concealing. That is why we gave the NYPD that specific information including all the evidence collected from the tracks. They are looking at him as a killer and not a spy. If they can find their killer, we get him for espionage" Agent Dodson responds

"Then we have a win, win situation. We get a spy, they get a case closure and we will probably get their best detective joining our team."

Agent Ramirez dismisses the group and then asks Agent Dodson to stay behind

"Agent Dodson, when are you taking the evidence to the police?"

"I am planning on leaving as soon as I can. Do you need something else?"

"After you drop off the information, I want you to hang around them and see what you can pick up from them. Watch them while they do their investigation"

"You want me to spy on Detective Beckett?"

"Actually watch the entire group. Beckett is good and I want to see how she operates. How she gets the job done. What is happening behind the badge so to speak? The higher ups want her. I want to see why"

* * *

**A/N I have had to change my story ending a little and I am working on the shift. If it seems a little disconnected, you will understand at the end when you see the crime solved. I will explain then why I am doing what I am doing.**

**But for now. Keep the FEDs at arms length**  
**Add a little more fluff.**  
**And have no fear the love is alive.**  
**And in my stories, it stays alive**


	6. Chapter 6

Mid afternoon in the 12th has the team going over and sorting a lot of information. As Beckett is reviewing the CSU reports she looks over to Ryan, Esposito

"Hey, guys go over to the victim's apartment and follow up with CSU. Let me know what you find anything there that might help us"

"Got it" Ryan responds as he and his partner stand and head to the elevator

"Rick this just does not feel like a normal murder. This victim may be a spook but he is way below the radar. No money problems. No women problems. Evidently no work problems. He just seems to have been pushed off the platform for no particular reason"

"I know and the video is not helping. The suspect seems to have been going for the briefcase and not really trying to kill him. The images make me think it was an accident and not deliberate" Castle responds to Kate

Kate stands up from her desk, picks up the coffee cups and turns toward the break room "I'm going to go get us some coffee. I'll be right back, Rick" she says with a smile as she walks away

Just as Kate leaves the bull pin, the elevator bell rings and a woman appears from behind the sliding doors pushing a two wheeled dolly containing a very large cardboard box. As she approaches the desks she speaks out "I am looking for Detective Beckett"

Castle turns from his position in front of the murder board to come face to face with Special Agent Raylene Dodson. She is a not unattractive late thirties woman. Tall, almost as tall as Beckett with a similar figure. Long almost raven colored hair and deep brown eyes. If it weren't for the gun on her hip, you might mistake her for a lawyer, accountant or even a television star He points toward Beckett's desk "This is Beckett's desk right here and you are…?"

She extends her hand "Agent Raylene Dodson. Sorry, I missed your name"

Richard Castle. I am a civilian…"

"Oh yes. Mr. Castle. I have heard about you. You are the mystery writer who wormed his way into the station several years ago and have been writing books about these homicide detectives ever since"

"Well I don't think I would put it as cold as you presented, but yes, I write books and yes the latest series is based on these fine, outstanding, hard working, intelligent detectives. So, what is it I can do for you now?" Castle responds with a touch of bitterness in his voice.

"I am looking for the lead detective on this case. I believe her name is Beckett?"

"Yes that would be Kate Beckett. And she has gone to the break room for coffee. She will be back momentarily" Castle responds

Rick is looking at the very large evidence box Agent Dodson is pushing around. "I assume this is the evidence that you are sharing with the police?"

She glares at Castle "I did not know that they were allowing very sensitive information to be seen by a civilian" Dodson remarks

"Mr. Castle is a very important member of this squad" Captain Gates remarks as she walks up to the pair "He has access to all the files on cases he is involved in. Including this one" Gates glares toward the federal agent

"I am the station captain, Victoria Gates" as the chief holds her hand out to the federal officer

"Good to meet you captain, I am Special Agent Raylene Dodson. I have been assigned to deliver this box of evidence and to be the liaison between your office and the task force. I am here to assist you in any way I can"

Assist us? The captain thinks to herself then she glances over at Castle who returns a questioning look in the captain's direction. Why do they think we need their help?

About this time Beckett returns from the break room carrying two fresh cusps of coffee. She sees the new woman standing talking to her man and puts a frown on her face. Castle sees Kate approaching and speaks up.

"Here is Detective Beckett now" Rick steps away from the woman fed and draws closer to Beckett. He takes a cup from Kate's hand and then turns back to face the two women

"Kate, this is Agent Dodson with the federal task force. Agent Dodson, this is Detective Kate Beckett"

Beckett sets the coffee down on her desk then reaches over to shake the other woman's hand "Nice to meet you Agent Dodson"

"Call me Raylene" The woman responds to Beckett

"The name's Kate" Beckett also states "I see you brought the evidence from the train station"

"Yes. I was also told to stay around and offer any assistance I can for your investigation. Can you show me to your operations room and I can put this box in there"

Kate looks over to Rick then back to Dodson "You can leave the box in the conference room over there"Indicating the room where Beckett wants the evidence placed"

Dodson has a funny look on her face not quite understanding that the police station is not the Federal Building and there is no team of agents milling over computer terminals and scanners. There is just a handful of officers researching the data and bringing it to Beckett

"Very well, Kate" Dodson takes the dolly containing the materials into the room and starts to take the papers from inside and places them on the table

Castle looks over at Kate "Did she just say she was going to stay and help US?"

"Yeah she did"

"Detective, Mr. Castle. Be very careful around her. I don't think she is here to help us as much as she is here to see what we discover about the case and feed it back to her superiors" Gate comments as she walks back in the direction of her office

"Understood sir" Beckett responds to her superior.

Kate then turns to Castle "Rick, go in there and start looking at what she brought and try to see if you can put something together from all that"

Castle turns and walks into the conference room and speaks to the agent

"Agent Dodson I will be the looking at the evidence you brought in. Is there anything special you can tell me about this?"

Dodson is still not happy about reporting to a civilian "No Mr. Castle. This is all the materials we picked up off the tracks. We decided that there was nothing here to help our investigation, but thought you might discover something to your benefit"

Special Agent Dodson is actually gloating over the fact that she knows full well that the box she brought is totally and complete worthless as evidence. It is basically a box of trash and by bringing it here the locals will do nothing but chase their tails

Castle sits down at the table and begins by looking at the evidence log for the items in the box. It seems to be a lot of junk. Listed are the remains of the top and bottom of the victim's briefcase. Several empty cola cans. More empty coffee cups. But mainly there are a large number of comic book pages. Rick looks into the box and pulls out the briefcase parts and places them on the table.

Then he looks aback into the box and removes a package containing the comic book pages. They are not new pages these pages have already been colored in. Judging by the artwork, probably colored by some very young children.

Something about these pages makes him believe that they were not from a single book, but multiple books He begins taking the pages out of the evidence wrappers and looking at them. He finds names written on the torn paper. Names such as 'Bobby, 'Tommy, Wendy, Karen, Beth'.

These look like they were done by children. Several different children. In fact looking at all the different name there were many, many children involved. Why would a large collection of coloring book pages be mixed in with all the debris below the train? And what connection could they possibly have with the deceased?

More than two hours has passed since he started and he had not even realized it was approaching supper time. Castle looks up to see his future bride at her desk having a conversation with Agent Dodson. Rick decides to walk out to see if Kate wants to go to dinner and head home to get a fresh start in the morning.

"Ladies, I did not realize how late it is. Does anyone want to have dinner?" Rick asks openly to both women

"Actually Castle Raylene invited me to have supper with her. She wanted to have some girl talk"

"Yes, Mr. Castle. I never get to just talk to any other women other than the ones in the task force. I thought it would be fun to have a girl's night out with someone new" Raylene responds

"All right you two. And the name is Rick. You can call me Rick or Castle. I answer to either. You two ladies have fun. And Agent Dodson I will see you tomorrow"

Castle's open ended response did not indicate to Agent Dodson about him and Beckett's relationship. He did not respond in such a way to give away that Kate and he were engaged.

Castle steps outside and calls his daughter and finds that she is available for a father daughter dinner date tonight. She just got back home yesterday and this is perfect timing for Castle


	7. Chapter 7

Beckett leaves the 4th floor, homicide and along with Agent Raylene Dodson head down to the garage where Detective Beckett's cruiser is parked. Once on the streets, Raylene begins what Kate is assuming to be an evening filled with interrogation.

"So Kate how long have you been a cop?"

"I went into the police academy in 1999 after I came home from college"

"Where you graduate from?"

"I didn't graduate. I was attending Stanford and was home over Christmas break. My mother was murdered and I just never went back."

"So you became a cop because of your mother's death?"

"Yeah I decided that I wanted to help victim's families get the closure that I was not able to get"

Kate can see where this line of questions is going. She knows that the feds have a file on her and know every detail about her history in the criminal justice system but this woman is digging for the unwritten information that is not in the master file in Washington

"I understand that you have the highest closure rate in the city when it comes to homicides"

"The TEAM has the highest rate. This is a team. Not just me"

"So you say that you are not the only reason for the highest clearance rate?"

"Not alone I'm not. It takes all four of us"

"Four? You, Detectives Esposito and Ryan. That makes three who is number four?"

Kate is seeing just how deep the questioning is going. The feds really have no idea how important Castle and the others really are. Before she can answer Kate turns her cruiser into the parking lot of the Café Largo, one of the town's most relaxed and desired cafes. but also one of the most expensive. One place that Kate and Rick have visited many times and Kate is well known there

"Raylene here is the restraunt I told you about. Let's go in have a nice quiet dinner and then I get to interrogate you a little while"

The two women step inside and find a long line waiting to be seated. They can hear several of the patrons commenting on the purported two hour wait for seating. They step up to the hostess stand and are greeted by the woman there "Hello Ms. Beckett/ Just two this evening?"

"Yes Dawn, just the two of us" Kate responds

The hostess glances to seating chart and then indicates for the women to follower her to a table. Agent Dodson is impressed by the fact that they arrived without reservations and are seated immediately. She decides that asking how that happened is not in her best interest right now.

Once at their table and seated, Dawn places menus in front of the two officers, describes the specials for the evening, and then leaves the two women to make their selections.

Immediately, Special Agent Dodson notices the menu has no prices. She knows that this is an indication that this place is on the much more expensive side. She also knows the old adage 'If you have ask the price, you can't afford it'

"Kate, there are no prices on this menu. How do you know what anything costs?"

"Don't worry about that Raylene. This dinner is on me" Kate responds as she lowers her head behind her menu and grins. She thinks to herself "This is going to be fun"

* * *

Richard Castle is waiting at Remy's for his daughter. His eyes brighten as he sees her enter the front door. She looks around and the moment she sees her dad, they rush together.

"Dad, it is great to be home"

"It's great to see you home. I wish I could have been at the airport to meet you, but a really bad case is on the boards right now. But we can talk about that later. I ordered your usual is that OK?"

"Sure. I am looking forward to a real hamburger after having meals containing mystery meat"

Castle laughs at his daughter's attempt at levity. "So Lexis, tell me all about Costa Rica. I need every detail and who did you bring home?"

The burgers and fries arrive and the father daughter team begins a session of eating mixed with talking. Castle listens as his girl tells in detail about the land, the people, and the culture. All the wonderful things that make that country so wonderful. Before either of these two realizes it, they have been talking for two hours.

"OK dad my turn. You asked Kate to marry you?"

"And she said yes" Castle responds with a gleam in his eyes

"Dad. I am so happy for you both. I know you have wanted her for years. I was afraid that she didn't feel the same. But obviously she did"

"Alexis, Kate and I both fought our feelings. That was a big mistake on both of our parts. Please don't ever do that in your own life. OK?"

"OK dad you have shown me what not to do in a relationship. So tell me about this case that you are on. You said it is really bad. How bad?"

Rick is not real sure how much information he can even tell his daughter but he begins with the usual crime scene information

"We have a man who was pushed onto the tracks in front of a passing train. He was struck and drug down the tracks about a quarter of a mile."

"That does sound gruesome. Knowing what I do about forensics I assume there was very little left of the body? Wait dad the stations all have cameras. Don't you have a great image of the killer on video?"

"We would but he had a jacket with a hood pulled over his head. We only got a fast image of his hand when he reached out for the man's briefcase"

"You said a guy wearing a hoodie?

"Yes. Why?"

"Dad, before I left for Costa Rica the school sent out a warning over social media about a gang calling themselves the 'Hood-Lums'"

Alexis takes her phone out of her purse and starts scrolling down the pages

"Here it is. They are robbing business people in train stations all around. They wear gray hoodie's and have been attacking riders all along the number 1 train line in the stations from Columbia to Times Square"

Richard Castle has a look of excitement as he realizes his daughter just gave him the answer about why no has spotted the killer. He is not wearing a green hoodie, it is gray. There must be a color error on the camera on the platform.

Castle leans over the table to his daughter and gives her a kiss on the head.

"Alexis! You are brilliant. I have to go tell Kate you just solved our case"

And Castle jumps up and rushes out the door on his way home to the loft

* * *

Back at the restaurant, Kate and Raylene are finishing up their meal and the server places the check down in the center. Kate reaches over but Raylene is able to grab it before Kate can. But after the initial shock of the total amount of the bill wears off her face, the federal agent releases the ticket to Kate who takes the bill and hands the server her credit card

"KATE! I had no idea how much the meal was. I will pay you back" Raylene chokes out "Somehow"

"I told you this is my treat. Don't worry about it"

The server brings the credit card slip back for Kate to sign. Raylene, being nosey investigator, is watching Kate add a tip and sign the check. She realizes that the amount of the tip alone that Beckett is adding is more than Raylene has ever paid for just a meal before.

As they exit the door Beckett offers the agent a ride to her hotel. Raylene declines the offer but thanks Beckett anyway.

"Agent Dodson, I will see you in the morning." Kate says as she offers her hand to the fed.

"I am looking forward to our next meeting "The Special Agent responds

Then thinking to herself "I am also looking forward to finding out how a New York cop is able to pay $400.00 for a meal for two?"

* * *

Kate rushes back to the loft to tell Rick what she learned about the feds. When she opens the door she sees her future husband in the living room on the couch. Lights dimmed, a few candles glowing. Soft music playing in the background and he is holding two glasses of wine just waiting for Kate to come home

She removes her boots, drops her jacket, and walks toward the man who seems to be in a very good mood

"Rick. Guess what?

"The feds are clueless?" Castle replies

"How did you know?"

"They are chasing the wrong leads"

"Right. I got that from talking to Dodson. She did everything but tell me they have no idea what is going down. However, I believe they are trying to woo me over to the dark side with all their fancy toys. But…"

Castle finishes the thought "All the toys are not helping on this one are they"

Kate sits down next to Castle "Rick, do you have something?"

Rick starts telling Kate about his visit with Alexis and the story about the train station robbers. And especially the issue about the color of the jacket the suspect was wearing.

"That explains why we didn't find him on any other cameras. We are looking for the wrong color hoodie" Kate says

Then with a gasp Kate continues "OH WAIT! The feds are looking for the wrong color hoodie"


	8. Chapter 8

Special Agent Raylene Dodson quickly makes her way into the war room where she finds the other dozen or so agents along with several techs standing around the computer terminals, scanners, printers, touch panels and other technical gadgets, still reviewing video from the train station, scanning e-mails and telephone data. Some are looking at the scanned images of the evidence that was collected at the station. The evidence that they turned over to Beckett and her team

"She walks over to the nearest tech and asks "Where's Agent Ramirez?"

Without taking his head away from his computer terminal the technician points toward an office that the task force has taken over as his own. When she steps up to the door Supervising Special Agent Ramirez, who is on the phone, acknowledges her presence and motions for her to enter the office.

"Yes sir, we are closing in on a suspect as we speak. We have several really good leads. Yes sir, we are positive there is danger that a national security breach has occurred. This man had access to some very sensitive materials and we feel that he was being groomed to turn this data over to foreign agents if he has not already done so"

Ramirez looks toward Dodson and shrugs his shoulders as if he is not totally sure how much longer the deputy director on the other end of the line is going to be grilling him.

"Sir we will do everything possible to make sure no classified information is leaked. Thank you sir" And SSA Ramirez finally hangs up the phone

"That was a pleasure. The director decided I did not have enough orifices in my body so he just opened a new one for me. But we did catch a break in the case"

"What's that?" Agent Ramirez asks.

"The evidence team brought back boxes and boxes of items from the apartment and found something troubling"

"What's that sir?"

"Our victim may have been a predator"

"What? Really? What leads you to think that?"

"Let me show you something" The SSA leads the other agent out to another conference room where the evidence boxes have been placed. Spread out all over the table is the usual items. Note pads, schedule books. A few bills that were on the desk to be paid but what has everyone concerned were three scrapbooks that were found in his apartment"

The senior agent picks up one of the books and opens it

Agent Dodson has a funny look on her face that changes to shock "What is this?"

"We are wondering the same thing" Agent Ramirez answers

Agent Dodson starts flipping pages and he face grows darker "It does appear as if our man has a little fetish. Doesn't it?"

"Yes, Dodson, it does and now I wonder if that is why he was killed. Was he being blackmailed because of this?"

"Makes sense Sir. When I go back over to the police station, I will try to see if they have the same ideas and keep snooping around. If they discover the back story first I will let you know because otherwise sir, Beckett and her protégés are clueless. They don't even know where to start. And can anyone tell me how they investigate a crime of any kind without the necessary technology?"

"What do you mean?"

"They have no computers doing data mining. No smart panels to analyze information. They had two junior detectives going out to the man's apartment looking around. And get this. One civilian who was sitting at a desk in a conference room manually sorting thru the evidence trash I brought them. As if that will help in some way"

She chuckles a minute then says "But there is also one very odd thing that happened however"

"What is that?" The senior man questions

"Last night I invited Detective Beckett to dinner and she accepted but said that it was her treat. She took me to a very nice restaurant. A place that had a two hour wait before being seated. But we were seated immediately because they knew her. Then the menus had no prices and when the bill came, it was over $400.00 for just the two of us. She paid like it was no big deal."

SSA Ramirez has a puzzled look on his face then asks "How does a New York Detective, even a detective first grade afford that kind of meal on her salary?"

"Sir, I have a few questions in that regard myself. But I have an idea as to how I might get inside information on her"

"What's that?"

"There is one civilian that hangs out with them. His name is Richard Castle. He is some type of a author. But anyway. I am going to try to get next to him and see if he can give me some insight on Beckett. Since he isn't a cop, he will not feel the same connection with her that the officers do about one of their own. He might just be able to give me the juicy inside story on her"

"Good plan Dodson. Keep me informed"

"I'm on my way to the police station and I will see what I can gleam anything from the way they work cases because so far, I still don't see how they accomplish what they do unless someone there has a crystal ball they use to solve the crimes"

"Very good, Agent Dodson. Keep me informed. But since they don't have our resources I am sure we will have the spy/killer in custody long before they know what hit them. But now I will begin looking into Detective Beckett's financials. This is making me wonder about her and maybe what she is hiding. She may not be the squeaky clean cop we all thought she was"

"Very good sir" Agent Dodson takes off down the elevator and out to a waiting black SUV that will take her back to the precinct

Richard Castle and his fiancé, Katherine Beckett has arrived at the station and pull into the basement where they park Kate's Crown Vic in its place. As they are walking across the parking garage, arm in arm, to the elevator lobby they hear the voices of their other partners in crime solving walking up.

"Hey you two lovebirds" Ryan quips to the couple

"Morning" Is all Esposito states

"Hey guys" Kate starts up "What did you find at the Vic's apartment?"

"Not a whole lot" Ryan answers first "The guy lived very simply. An average television and stereo, nice furniture. Desk for a home office. He was not living extravagant. Nothing really unusual. The feds already have picked up the contents of his dresser, desk and pantry but I have a copy of the evidence list"

"Do you also have the photos of his apartment? I would like to look at them and see if anything hits me" Castle asks of the pair

"CSU has them in the system. They downloaded them last night" Ryan answers

"Great. I will pull them up when we get inside"

As Rick and Kate are getting off the elevator and are heading across the bull pin they hear a voice from behind them

"Kate! Castle!"

The pair turn around to find Agent Dodson approaching. Kate finds it funny that what Raylene just said sounded like she was calling Beckett, Kate Castle, instead of speaking their two names separately

"Agent Dodson" Castle speaks first

Looking directly at Castle "Rick, the name is Raylene. Remember" Her smile is a little too much toward Rick to suit Beckett

Not liking the tone from the federal agent towards her man Kate responds "Oh Yes, Raylene. What can we do for you?"

"Just dropping by to see what help I can be on the case today?"

"Thanks Raylene, but we believe we have some great leads and we re just going to be following up on them later"

Thinking that the NYPD is simply closing the door on giving out information, Dodson replies "So can I follow one of them around and watch?" She reaches over to touch Castle's arm "Say like Rick?" As she puts on her best smile "And see how you all do what you do?"

In response to the question Kate puts on her best 'If you Touch my man you will die look!'


	9. Chapter 9

Fortunately for Special Agent Raylene Dodson a call out from Detective Ryan halts her advances towards Castle and the injury to her body that would most definitely be inflicted by Kate Beckett had she made any more contact with Rick

"We got another interesting piece of information on the victim's credit card bill. There are repeated charges being made at Bennies Comic World over on 33rd. He charged about a hundred dollars there every three or four weeks"

Castle looks over to the detective that just saved him from an embarrassing confrontation with another woman "That is a lot of comic books"

"Yeah, but I talked to one of the clerks at the store and he remembers our victim He did not buy comics only. He also bought a lot of coloring books as well"

"So comic books and coloring books." Castle responds.

Hey guys" Esposito speaks up "I remember something from the pictures in the apartment"

Esposito punches a few buttons on the computer." Look at the photographs from the walls of the man's apartment"

On the screen are several pictures obviously colored by children hanging on the walls.

"These are from coloring books" Beckett comments

"He has framed them and put them all on the wall. They have names on the top" Ryan notices

"That is not the only place I have seen these" Castle rushes into the conference room and grabs a bag of evidence. Inside the bag are pages from a coloring book

"Look at these" Rick says as he holds one of the wrinkled and torn pages

"These are the same type pages. The pages from the tracks were not trash. They must have come from his briefcase. When he was hit by the train, this was strewn all over the rail" Beckett notices

"He had them with him" Esposito retorts "Was he talking them home?"

Castle walks up to the murder board "He buys coloring books then takes them somewhere. They are colored in by children and then he takes them back to his home and posts them on his wall like fine art. Whoever these children are, he is proud of them"

"WHY do you say that?" Agent Dodson asks

Beckett turns toward the female federal agent "He is framing them and placing them on the wall? Of course he is proud of the pictures. They are treasures to him The next question should be who then question of why?"

Agent Dodson wants to say something about the scrapbooks but chooses to continue to listen and learn. She is now beginning to gain appreciation of how this team works. One member finds information and brings it to the group who process it into a theory. Not a one man or woman operation and they do it all together

Raylene decides to drop a hint about what she does know "Detective Beckett, I would think that finding a lot of drawings made by children would first indicate the man was a child predator. That maybe he was tempting children with comics and coloring books and then…well you know. Bad stuff happens"

"Agent Dodson, Just after I met Castle he taught me something .That the evidence is not always the whole story. There is usually more. Sometimes we go down some blind alleys before we find our way. Thinking that these pictures are proof he was a pervert is the maybe the wrong path" Kate can't help but look at Castle with just a touch of pride

"We need to search his place. I bet we find more of these pictures. Probably kept in a safe place. Carefully stored" Kate finishes her statement

Beckett's desk phone rings "Beckett" she listens for a minute "great, bring them up" She hangs up her phone and turns back to the murder board

"That was detective Jenkins from the gang unit. He is bringing up the members of the Hood-Lums gang that they just picked up for us"

"The what gang?" Agent Dodson asks

Beckett answers "Oh it's a gang that hangs out in the subway stations robbing people. You know a little snatch and grab and then running off with their stuff. Just up until now, they had not hurt anyone so they were low on the list to be arrested. This murder brought them to the top"

The elevator rings and six gray hooded boys appear surrounded by uniform officers and two plain clothes detectives. Esposito meets the group and escorts them to the interrogation room.

Agent Dodson immediately notices the hoodie's are not green. They are gray

"Detective Beckett. The video showed the hoodies were green. These hoods are gray" Raylene comments

"Remember what I said about the evidence is not the whole story? In this case, the camera was out of adjustment. After tech corrected the color on the first camera, we were able to identify the person and then track the individual to the next platform and on to the location where he met up with the others in the gang" Kate points to the six boys now being placed into the interrogation room

"Now Beckett just needs to put on her either tough cop face or her caring motherly face, go in there and confront them and pick out which one did it": Castle smiles at Kate as he makes his statement to Raylene

"Beckett is the best in this" Ryan adds to Castle's description just as his phone rings

"Ryan:" Kevin steps away from the group

Raylene is somewhat in shock listening and watching as this entire case seems to be falling into place for these detectives. "Rick do you ever go in there?" pointing at the room but looking at Castle

"Not this time. I would normally go in with Kate, but in a deal like this she needs total and complete control of the room. She has plenty of protection with the uniforms, so I will stay out in the observation room and wait there" Castle puts on his best 'I love this woman so much and I am proud of her' smile

Beckett steps thru the door, drops her file on the table in her usual controlling manor "Who wants to tell me what happened?"

All six young men look down to the tabletop.

Beckett gets a much firmer tome to her voice "I just need to know who caused the accident and the rest will not be charged with the murder but if I don't get an answer all six of you will be charged with second degree murder."

One young man looks up at Beckett with pure fear in his eyes "It was an accident. I didn't mean to do it I just was trying to grab his briefcase, he moved to look at his watch just as I did and I accidentally hit his arm and knocked him into the train. I am so sorry. Please I am so sorry! I am so sorry!"

Beckett looks at the young man "We know it was an n accident. We could tell from the video once we knew who you were. We have watched the video carefully. You will be charged with second degree murder and the rest as accessories after the fact.

Kate stands up and tells the uniforms to take them all down to central booking. After they leave the room she turns and thanks the gang officers who brought the boys in

"Not a problem Beckett. Hey we understand that congratulations are in order"

"I'm sorry. What?" Kate asks

"You two are the talk of the department. You realize you have to invite all 36000 officers to the wedding. Everyone had bets going on when you two would finally get together. We all knew it was just a mater of time"

"Very funny you guys." Kate ducks her head and walks away from the two men then turn back "but thanks for bringing these boys in. We get to close another one with your help"

"No problem, detective. Until next time" The two gang cops leave the interview room and head to the elevator

Agent Dodson is pretty much in shock trying to figure out hat just happened and she is dying to know who these cops were talking about when they mentioned that Beckett is getting married. But to who? The Dc file on her never mentioned her having a boyfriend

Kate walks out of the interrogation room but before Dodson can ask about her boyfriend Ryan and Esposito rush up to the group

Ryan speaks first "We traced the victim's metro card usage. Every Saturday he got on the number one train and went to Children's Hospital"

Esposito continues "Where he visited with all the children every weekend as, get this, 'Ralphie the Clown'. He entertained the critically and terminally ill children, gave them coloring books and comics. Made them laugh."

Ryan fills in more information "I spoke with their volunteer coordinator. She was in tears after I told her what happened. She said that Ralph had started doing this after his younger sister's best friend died from cancer there several years ago"

"Have we talked to his sister?" Beckett asks

"Yes and all the other notifications were made" Ryan responds

Castle gets a look of understanding on his face "The automatic check payment in his bank account listed as 'Wish? Was it for The Make a Wish Foundation?"

"Ryan answers "Yes, we were able to track it to that charity. He had connected up with a syndicated radio personality named Kidd Kraddick and Kidd's Kids and he was involved with their organization helping raise funds for terminally ill and critical children"

Kate looks down at her own feet. "Makes you feel like you have really done nothing in your life, doesn't it?"

Ryan answers "Kate. We found a killer and brought and answer to the victim's family"

"That's a good starter" Esposito responds as he walks back to his desk

Special Agent Raylene Dodson looks at the group in front of her "You did a lot more than the feds could ever hope to do"

She turns to walk away "I am sorry I ever any doubted any of you"

* * *

**A/N**

**For those who don't know. The Radio personality I named was a real man. He had a syndicated program on over seventy radio stations in the country. He broadcast from studios in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. He also had a local program here.**

**And he was big into helping the children who were critically ill.**  
**He died from heart problems just after I started this story and I changed the ending to honor his work and bring to light the needs in that area.**  
**My victim was a volunteer. The only thanks they get is the memories of helping.**  
**Even though we are not supposed to bring up real persons both Kidd Kraddick and Stana Katic support children's hospitals.**

**Children are the future**

**There is a short epilog to follow**


	10. Chapter 10

Epilog

Agent Jared Stack walks off the elevator onto the 4th floor of the 12th precinct. His walk is more akin to an attack. He is obviously not a very happy person. He is closely followed by Supervising Special Agent Ramirez and Agent Raylene Dodson

"Detective Beckett, may I have a word with you" Agent Stack says with an extremely high level of angst in his voice

"Certainly" Beckett responds. As she stands, she smiles toward her fellow officers and partner, and then follows the federal agents as they move toward the conference room.

Once Agent Stack closes the door he turns and begins a "Detective! I need to know how you did it? I had an entire team brought here from DC along with several agents from the local FBI field office and all the technical support to deal with a very sensitive case involving national security and you and your group of misfits sticks your nose into my case"

"I'm sorry, Stack, but I didn't know the New York police were denied the right to investigate murders that happen inside our city. Or does your department want to blunder thru cases that it has no business getting involved in while wasting taxpayer's money?" Kate responds with just a little glee in her answer

Stack turns toward the other two Special Agents with a face full of anger "Well Beckett I have to admit that you solved this case in a way I never thought about and obviously these two did not either"

"Well, Stack, what is it you want? For me and my team to gloat or for us to wait for you to apologize to us for your department's ineptitude? "

"Actually, Detective Beckett. Neither. I came here today to again offer you the job with the task force. But this time the job is not just as an agent. This time it is the SSA"

Kate looks at Agent Stack with wonderment in her eyes "Stack! I already told you no, that I was not interested in the offer"

"I know but what you did with this case shows how much we need to in DC. How much good you would do if we had you there"

Agent Dodson tries to interrupt "Sir, as I said I saw more than just Detective Bec…"

"Agent Dodson DO NOT interrupt" Agent Ramirez comments

"Sir. I will interrupt as long as you two continue this charade. I watched this case unfold. And I can tell you that the four of them solved this together as a team. Not just Beckett alone. She is the team leader, yes, but it took all of them. So if you want to learn from them, you need everyone"

She looks over to Kate "I have learned a giant lesson from these detectives and I will be tendering my resignation as soon as we return to DC and I hope to apply for a position here in New York. If I am lucky they might let me learn from this team and if either one of you has a brain in his head, you will ask for the help of these four in solving crimes or at the very least, have them train you. You could learn a lot from them"

And she turns and exits the room.

"So, Agent Stack, I think that just about covers our conversation, don't you?" Kate asks of the two men left standing

"Actually, Detective, I still think my five year plan sounds better than anything else you have. Don't you?"

"No Stack, I don't. As I said, in five years, I will be married to Richard Castle and I immediately will have one child, a step daughter, but Rick and I are going to have more together. And with the help of the best detectives in New York, we will still be solving crimes without your computers, smart boards, and data mining. We use good old fashioned police work. And at the end of the day, we know exactly who we arrested and what family member we helped."

Kate looks out toward her partners "And that's enough for me!"

Kate walks out to the bull pin, takes Castle's arm and along with her detective partners they leave the floor

* * *

**Another brain explosion over with. Thank Goodness**


End file.
